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The bed of a lathe is the central beam that runs down the machine. The head, which holds and turns the workpiece, is fixed at one end, there is a tailstock at the other end which can be adjusted along the bed, and usually a carraige in between, which holds turning tools. The workpiece that can be turned in the lathe is limited to what will fit in the head without hitting the bed. A gap bed lathe has a gap in the bed near the head, so a larger workpiece can be turned.
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How do you modify a lathe if the job is more than the swing bed size?
The swing of a lathe can be increased if the gap-bed section is removed, providing the lathe has this option and the workpiece is not longer than the gap when clamped in the chuck.
What is Swing in gap in lathe?
It is the radial distance from spindle center to bed guide ways so that it can be turned with out fouling bed and it is termed as swing over bed. If it is a gap bed machine then another swing specification termed as swing over gap. Another swing specification is swing over cross slide. This specification become important while machining a job in between centers.
What is the size of a lathe that measures 6in from the center of the spindle to the main bed?
A lathe that measures 6 inches from the center of the spindle to the closest part of the bed is considered a lathe with a 12 inch swing.
What is bed length in lathe?
The bed length of a lathe is the total length of the bed way from where it starts to (close to the headstock) to where it ends. When a lathe is advertized for sale it would show for example: 200mm x 1000mm or 8" x 40". The 200mm or 8" describes the "swing" of the machine and the 1000mm or 40" describes the workable distance between the chuck and center. This should not be confused with the bed size of a lathe as the bed houses the tail stock and therefore the distance is shortened.
Difference between turret and center lathe?
A turret lathe has six-usual tools arranged in the order of use on a rotating turret which is cycled by a large wheel or (Turnstile) like contrivance- in fact some lathe makers calle them Turnstile lathes. the British prefer the term Capstan lathes, the Capstan being that old extended bar device ( somewhat resembling a turnstile) used by seamen to manually raise the anchor- in old Pirate films, etc. The Capstan or Turnstile is oriented vertically, like a steering wheel. they usually have six stops on a hexagon turret. For this reason, a number of automobile makers had hexagonal trademarks such as Essex and Packard- a mark of homage to the machines used to make the parts!- the Turret Lathe.
